For years, Western retailers believed that the best way to win customers was to offer a clean shopping interface, predictable discounts, and consistent product quality. Yet the explosive global rise of companies like Shein, Temu, Luckin Coffee, and Pop Mart suggests a new formula: speed, dopamine-driven engagement, and low-cost accessibility.

What began as a domestic experiment in China has evolved into a global retail phenomenon, drawing in millions of consumers from New York to Nairobi. For businesses aiming to compete in this new environment, the question is not whether the playbook works — it is how to apply its energy while maintaining fairness, trust, and sustainable margins.

MavenPay’s perspective as a fintech partner for cross-border retailers offers a window into bridging the gap between addictive engagement and responsible loyalty.

From Factory Floor to Global Brand Power

China was once called the “factory of the world,” supplying inexpensive goods for Western brands. Today, Chinese firms are not just supplying products — they are exporting brands and entire retail ecosystems.

• Luckin Coffee, once a domestic challenger to Starbucks, has opened in New York City.
• Mixue, the budget bubble-tea giant, is expanding across Southeast Asia and into Australia and the US.
• Shein has made the US its largest market and continues to grow rapidly in the UK.
• Temu, owned by Pinduoduo Holdings, became one of the most downloaded shopping apps among Gen Z in the US.
• Pop Mart created a global craze for collectible toys such as Labubu, reporting a 401% profit surge in the first half of 2025.

What these companies share is not just affordability — it is a new approach to engagement.

Engagement as Entertainment

Chinese consumer platforms stand out for turning shopping into an entertainment-driven experience. Instead of the clean, minimalist interfaces typical of Western e-commerce, their platforms are busy, dynamic, and interactive.

• Flash deals, pop-ups, and constant prompts create a sense of urgency.
• Gamified rewards and loyalty layers keep shoppers coming back.
• Influencers like Austin Li — known as the “Lipstick King” — turn livestream shopping into a cultural spectacle, with on-screen pop-ups and limited-time promotions that drive impulse buying.

Researchers such as Allison Malmsten of Daxue Consulting explain that these tactics work because of randomized rewards: customers never know when the next deal or special offer will appear. This unpredictability activates reward-seeking behavior, a proven mechanism for boosting engagement.

For brands in the West, this raises an important question: how to borrow the energy of entertainment-driven engagement without undermining trust and long-term customer value.

The Lesson for Global Retailers: Balance Hook with Service

Shoppers — particularly Gen Z — respond to gamified, fast-paced experiences. At the same time, they expect clear pricing, fast refunds, reliable delivery, and strong data protection.

The path forward for global brands is to adopt a balanced approach:

• Use short-term campaigns and playful experiences to spark discovery.
• Back them with reliable service and transparent loyalty programs to build lasting trust.
• Avoid tactics that feel manipulative or lead to unsustainable price wars.

This is where fintech infrastructure becomes strategic. MavenPay, for example, enables retailers to offer instant cashback, compliant rewards wallets, and transparent cross-border FX rates, creating fair value experiences that are both engaging and trustworthy.

Speed as a Competitive Edge

Beyond gamification, Chinese companies have excelled at rapid product development.

• Shein and Temu test thousands of items, identify winners quickly, and push them to the right customers with precision.
• Beauty brands such as Florasis can take a product from concept to launch in just three months.
• Tech companies like Xiaomi have entered entire new industries — launching an electric car within two years of announcing the project.

This velocity has given Chinese brands a first-mover advantage in emerging trends and a reputation for being responsive to consumer curiosity.

For global retailers, replicating this speed requires not only agile supply chains but also payment, rewards, and compliance systems that can keep up. MavenPay’s real-time payments, loyalty analytics, and multi-currency settlement allow brands to run campaigns and test new offers without being slowed by regional banking complexities.

Rethinking the Value Equation

Much of the initial success of Chinese challengers came from ultra-low prices. Analysts like Jeffrey Towson describe their model as “50 percent price, 80 percent quality.” That formula helped them grab market share but has also drawn scrutiny, especially as regulatory changes such as the tightening of the US de minimis import rule add costs to their global expansion.

Western brands do not necessarily need to race to the bottom on price. Instead, they can compete on a fair value proposition:

• Transparent FX rates for cross-border shoppers.
• Instant, visible rewards that feel like genuine value.
• Secure, compliant processing that protects both customer data and brand reputation.

MavenPay’s infrastructure supports this value-over-discount approach by letting retailers shift spending from blunt price cuts to smarter, personalized reward structures.

Payments and Loyalty as the New Differentiator

In the next phase of global retail, how customers pay and how they are rewarded will matter as much as product and price.

MavenPay enables brands to:

• Offer real-time cashback at the point of sale, online or in-store.
• Integrate service-recovery credits to win back dissatisfied customers quickly.
• Manage multi-currency loyalty points that work across regions without confusing conversions.
• Access data insights on redemption patterns, helping brands adjust campaigns faster.

By embedding trust, transparency, and convenience into each transaction, retailers can create the kind of positive reinforcement that turns first-time buyers into loyal customers.

From Short-Term Hooks to Long-Term Habits

The Chinese playbook shows that fast-paced promotions, gamified interfaces, and unpredictable rewards can ignite massive growth. Yet as markets mature, consumers seek more than just thrills — they look for brands that respect their time, their data, and their spending power.

Global retailers can succeed by blending the energy of gamified engagement with the credibility of fair service and secure payments.

MavenPay’s mission is to give retailers and service providers the tools to do exactly that:

• Compete in the era of dopamine-driven commerce.
• Scale promotions across borders without losing transparency.
• Build loyalty programs that feel rewarding rather than exploitative.

Closing Insight: From Hook to Habit

The global expansion of brands like Shein, Temu, Luckin Coffee, and Pop Mart has shown the power of engaging, entertaining commerce. But it has also highlighted the need for a next generation of payment and loyalty solutions that support fair, sustainable growth.

Retailers that can blend speed and engagement with trust and transparency will define the future of shopping.

MavenPay aims to be the partner behind that transition — helping brands move from short-term hooks to long-term habits that create genuine value for customers everywhere.